Dear friend,
Every family wants their children to grow, play, and thrive. But for far too many children around the world, hunger affects their development and makes it difficult for them to learn in school. That’s why schools are one of our most critical partners in addressing the global hunger crisis.
Here in Kyrgyzstan, for example, Mercy Corps has supplied more than 22 million nutritious school meals since 2012. For many families, school meals provide a consistent source of nutrition for their children and help to ease their financial burden.
We know hunger is a symptom of more complex problems that make nutritious food inaccessible, like conflict, poverty, and climate change. Overcoming these challenges means partnering with the people who are most affected to create holistic, sustainable solutions tailored to their communities.
So in places like Kyrgyzstan, we don’t just serve school meals. We help schools grow their own kitchen gardens. We invest in food dehydrators to preserve fresh food for winter. And to feed young minds, we’ve filled school libraries with 80,000+ books.
In Kyrgyzstan, participating schools celebrate their first fruit harvest from their own orchards.
The impacts of our nutrition programs continue to ripple through communities, generating income for local businesses and inspiring more than 25 rural households to plant their own orchards.
As Mercy Corps’ Director of Programs in Kyrgyzstan, I am
so proud of the work that we’ve done
to promote child nutrition here and in 25+ other countries.
Working together, we’re creating brighter, healthier futures for generations to come.
Sincerely,
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Nurzat Esengulova,
Mercy Corps Director of Programs, Kyrgyzstan
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Nurzat believes in the critical importance of nutrition for children’s literacy and growth. She works with communities to enrich understanding and apply best practices in nutrition, sanitation, and hygiene to improve quality of life for all.
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